1. Field of the Invention
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the present invention relate to providing remote user interface service and, more particularly, to providing a Remote User Interface (RUI) service, which can extend Universal Plug-and-Play (UPnP) service outside a home network using Open Service Gateway Initiative (OSGi) technology.
2. Description of the Related Art
UPnP RUI is a UPnP standard technology for providing user interfaces (UIs) between UPnP devices connected to a home network. For example, UPnP RUI technology allows application UIs, which reside in a Personal Computer (PC) located in a study room, to be accessed and manipulated through a digital television (DTV) located in a living room.
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a related art UPnP RUI.
The UPnP RUI includes an RUI server 20, an RUI client 10, and an RUI control point 30.
The RUI server 20 provides a service UI for providing applications or services to a remote RUI client 10 through a UPnP network.
The RUI client 10 is a device for remotely executing or manipulating the applications of the RUI server 20 through the service UI provided by the RUI server 20. Accordingly, the RUI client 10 has a function of outputting the service UI, which is provided by the RUI server 20, onto a screen to allow a user to access or manipulate the service UI.
Each of the UPnP device RUI server 20 and the RUI client 10 provides a UPnP action to the RUI control point 30, and the RUI control point 30 is responsible for controlling the RUI server 20 and the RUI client 10. For example, when a specific service UI, which can be used by the RUI client 10, is selected from among the service UIs of the RUI server 20, the RUI control point 30 issues a connection command to the RUI client 10 so that the RUI client 10 can receive the selected service UI.
For example, when a user selects the RUI client 10 through the RUI control point 30 to display a service UI, the RUI control point 30 receives a device profile, which is supported by the RUI client 10 selected by the user, through a predetermined action (for example, a “getDeviceProfile” action) (13). In this case, the device profile is a kind of remote UI protocol (for example, XHT and HTML) that enables the rendering of the RUI client 10.
The RUI control point 30 calls the predetermined action (for example, “getCompatibleUIs” action) of the RUI server 20 using the device profile as a factor (15). In this case, the RUI control point 30 can receive a list of service UIs that are compatible with the RUI client 10 among the service UIs provided by the RUI server 20 through the call.
At the next operation, the RUI control point 30 selects a desired service UI from among the compatible service UIs, extracts Uniform Resource Locator (URL) information corresponding to the selected service UI, and calls a “Connect” action so that the RUI client 10 connects to the RUI server 20 to receive a corresponding service (17).
The RUI client 10 can remotely use the service of the RUI server 20 using the URL of the service UI through the “Connect” action (19). In this case, the communication method thereof is implemented using a separate remote protocol method other than UPnP.
However, the related art UPnP RUI described above, which is located outside the home network, does not propose an RUI model that can provide service from outside the home network due to the limited characteristics of UPnP technology, therefore such an RUI model is desired.